The instant invention relates to methods and apparatus for beaching a boat. More specifically, the instant invention relates to methods and apparatus for beaching a boat by rolling the boat onto shore on an assembly of boat fenders.
Beaching a small boat, such as a recreational sail boat, a canoe, a kayak, a small motor boat, a personal watercraft, a jet boat or a row boat, usually subjects the boat to minor damage from abrasion as the boat is dragged up onto shore and can require a significant amount of effort. Nuova Rade spa of Italy (nuovarade.com/boat-fenders.htm) offers a cylindrical boat fender to be positioned parallel to a shoreline of a body of water so that a boat in the water and perpendicular to the shoreline with the center of the bow of the boat centered near the center of the fender can be moved toward and onto land by rolling the boat on the fender. However, the boat fender offered by Nuova Rade is significantly longer than an ordinary boat fender and thus is of reduced use as a boat fender for a small boat. In addition, the boat fender offered by Nuova Rade does not align the keel of the boat with the fender as the boat is rolled onto land. Therefore, the boat can roll off the side of the fender as the boat is rolled onto land.